Delightful Deal

This week me, Ken, and Bertie headed off to Deal on the Kent coast for a three night mini break - we'd never been to Deal before so weren't sure what to expect, especially as a lot of English seaside towns can be a bit tacky. We needn't have worried as Deal turned out to be delightful.

We'd rented a restored fisherman's cottage only a very short stroll from the beach and it was lovely - really nicely decorated on a beach theme.

Ken and Bertie in front of the cottage

Our first evening, after taking Bertie for a walk, we headed off for fish and chips at Dunkerly's hotel and it was absolutely scrummy.

Deal has an infamous history of smugglers and as you walk around the town you can imagine a little of what it may have been like hundreds of years ago as so many of the old buildings remain along with very narrow streets. Our cottage was just off Alfred Square which used to be full of pubs, smugglers, and ladies of the night. On our way back to the cottage after our meal we could hear music coming from one of the pubs so we ventured in to find a group of local musicians rehearsing - it was really lovely, a mixture of traditional folk music and sea shanties.

The beach is a pebble one which is a bit of a workout to walk on but Bertie was fine - he wasn't allowed on the main beach but it was only a short walk to where he was allowed. He loves going in the sea though he tends to stay where he can stand up.

Action shot

When he'd finished he decided to come and lie on my legs - at least his wetness cooled me down a bit.

My two gorgeous men

Here's a few shots from around the town and along the beach.

Sunny selfie

This is my arty shot

The photos don't really do it justice but I hope you can get a sense of how pretty it is. Once we'd arrived in Deal we didn't use the car again until we left, so Ken parked it on the sea front where there was free parking - you may wonder why I'm telling you this, well it's because I wanted to share with you his fine parking skills.

I don't think even a wafer thin piece of paper would fit between the bumper and the wall

As always we visited local churches and the graves within - one of the churches must have know Ken was coming as there were Scottish Saltires strung through the trees. None of the graves were intact, instead the headstones were lined up around the perimeter.

One thing that we loved is that the people of Deal obviously have a great sense of humour as evidenced by several signs around the town - here's three of our favourites.

There is a pier but it's quite a plain one though does have a great sculpture at the entrance.

View of the town from the pier

Our last evening we went to the Royal and I had a perfect meal - whitebait, sweet potato fries, and a Pims.

There are lots of blue plaques around the town including one for Charles Hawtry (probably best known for the Carry On films) - sadly due to too many excesses in later life when he died there were only a handful of mourners at his funeral.

On our final morning we headed back to the Royal for breakfast - you can see that Ken had someone's undivided attention as he ate his full English (you'll be pleased to know that Bertie Boo got a sausage).

So that was our visit to Deal - I would definitely recommend it if you want somewhere by the sea to visit.

Until next time be happy, stay safe, and make sure you take care of you and yours.

Pamela and Ken
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P.S: Final picture is of a hairdressers that I loved - it looks like something out of the movie Grease.